How to Listen to and Understand Opera

Course No. 740 (32 lectures, 45 minutes/lecture)
Taught by Robert Greenberg
San Francisco Performances
Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley
1. Introduction and Words and Music, I
2. Introduction and Words and Music, II
3. A Brief History of Vocal Expression in Music, I
4. A Brief History of Vocal Expression in Music, II
5. Invention of Opera and Monteverdi's Orfeo, I
6. Invention of Opera and Monteverdi's Orfeo, II
7. Invention of Opera and Monteverdi's Orfeo, III
8. Invention of Opera and Monteverdi's Orfeo, IV
9. The Growth of Opera, the Development of Italian Opera Seria, and Mozart's Idomeneo, I
10. The Growth of Opera, the Development of Italian Opera Seria, and Mozart's Idomeneo, II
11. The Growth of Opera, the Development of Italian Opera Seria, and Mozart's Idomeneo, III
12. The Growth of Opera, the Development of Italian Opera Seria, and Mozart's Idomeneo, IV
13. The Rise of Opera Buffa and Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, I
14. The Rise of Opera Buffa and Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, II
15. The Rise of Opera Buffa and Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, III
16. The Rise of Opera Buffa and Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, IV
17. The Bel Canto Style and Rossini's The Barber of Seville, I
18. The Bel Canto Style and Rossini's The Barber of Seville, II
19. Verdi and Otello, I
20. Verdi and Otello, II
21. Verdi and Otello, III
22. Verdi and Otello, IV
23. French Opera, I
24. French Opera, II
25. German Opera Comes of Age
26. Richard Wagner and Tristan und Isolde, I
27. Richard Wagner and Tristan und Isolde, II
28. Late Romantic German Opera—Richard Strauss and Salome
29. Russian Opera, I
30. Russian Opera, II
31. Verismo, Puccini, and Tosca, I
32. Verismo, Puccini, and Tosca, I